MIAMI Goran Dragić did not spend time catching up with all of his Raptors teammates over the three days the team spent here, nor did he chat with Bobby Webster and Masai Ujiri over drinks at the beach. If he snuck into the FTX Arena on Saturday to watch his teammates play, he did so discreetly and was never noticed by people looking for him.
That’s too bad because it would have given him a chance to say goodbye to the franchise.
According to multiple NBA sources, granted anonymity because nothing has been finalized, the Raptors are finding great interest in a myriad of differently structured deals for the veteran point guard and he is almost certain to be dealt near the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline.
Given the vagaries of trade negotiations – and they are many, deals can come together or fall apart with a minute’s notice – nothing is guaranteed but the sources indicate there are many different opportunities for Toronto to turn the 35-year-old guard into something tangible at the deadline.
Dragić has been away from the Raptors, who obtained him and Precious Achiuwa for Kyle Lowry, since November.
He left with the full blessing of the franchise to deal with a serious family issue that came up, a personal matter that needed his presence in South Florida to resolve. It’s unclear whether it is totally cleaned up but the Raptors are past the point where they see a way Dragić could conceivably return to the team and have ramped up discussions to move him.
They are finding several suitors in different scenarios.
- Moving Dragić on his own could yield a player with the same kind of expiring contract (about $ 19 million) to help the Raptors through the end of the season while keeping alive the possibility of signing the acquired player in the summer.
- Attaching a first-round pick to a Dragić deal could bring back a player the Raptors want on a longer term deal and with Toronto expected to be about $ 30 million below the tax level in 2022-23, taking on salary isn’t at all arduous .
- If the Raptors are wooed by the chance to obtain a very high priced player on the market, they could expand the deal by adding a Toronto player under contract in some major multi-player transaction.
No names were clear in conversations with sources here on the weekend but it is clear that, 10 days out from the deadline, general manager Bobby Webster and president / vice-chairman Masai Ujiri are being proactive in seeking deals.
One thing has become more clear: The Raptors really like their core group – Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. – and there is little chance any of them are going anywhere.
“I think there’s always talk about what things we could add and what do we really need to most help the team and there’s usually a discussion of some names here and there that are thrown around,” coach Nick Nurse said in Miami.
“But as you know, for 1,000 discussions, one trade happens.”
The Raptors – and other teams – have enough information to know what they have in a backup group and what holes they need to be filled. That seems to be the most likely scenario, that they find depth pieces and let Nurse figure it out.
“Our job is to get ’em playing day-to-day and you’re always looking at that,” the coach said. “You’ve got one or two choices: You got to get the guys you’ve got here playing better, figuring it out and playing a more consistent role or you’ve got to try to bolster that bench unit.”
The players are philosophical about it. They know this is a time of year rife with speculation and names will be bandied about, scenarios proposed and the chatter will be rampant. But they also know they have jobs to do.
“I think all the guys that are tradable should be focused on playing their best basketball and all the guys who do not think they’re getting traded should have nothing to worry about,” veteran Fred VanVleet said. “I think that’s been my approach every year. I’ve been in trade talks, I’ve been not in trade talks and you just go do your job and let the business be the business.
“I do not think that’s something for us to worry about, I think we just got to go try to win some games and the rest will take care of itself.”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)
Reference-www.thestar.com